Start with the site rather than a target unit count
Begin with the full address, a boundary plan, photographs, existing floor plans and the intended use. Explain whether the proposal involves buying land, converting a building, dividing a house or expanding an existing business. A target number of flats is a commercial objective, not proof that the building can provide suitable homes. The study should test how accommodation, access and servicing fit together before producing a headline capacity.
Prepare a record of assumptions. For example, an unmeasured cellar should not count as usable residential space in an appraisal; a passage controlled by another owner should not be assumed available for a new entrance. Flag assumptions that need survey or legal confirmation and show how each could alter the development option.
Read the right Leeds policy layers
Leeds has several adopted development-plan documents, rather than one all-purpose rulebook. The Policies Map is the starting point for identifying which allocations and designations touch the land. For a lower Aire Valley site, check the Area Action Plan boundary and its site requirements. In other locations, read the Site Allocations Plan and relevant made neighbourhood plan alongside the wider adopted framework.
A policy map is an evidence source, not a design approval. Record the designation, the associated written policy and why it matters to the proposal. A feasibility summary that simply says the site is brownfield or close to a station leaves the crucial judgement unfinished.
Investigate constraints in a useful sequence
Check whether any issue could defeat the principle before commissioning detailed decorative design. These early questions might concern lawful use, protected land, an unsuitable access, heritage significance or an environmental constraint. Then investigate matters that mainly influence layout and cost. Leeds’ flood evidence includes the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and separate drainage asset information; a single river-flood screenshot is an incomplete appraisal.
Do not clear vegetation or alter a building to make the assessment easier. Keep dated site photographs and commission relevant specialists where the initial review identifies a real issue. A staged scope should explain which surveys are necessary now, which can wait and whether seasonal survey windows could affect the programme.
Compare deliverable options
A useful comparison puts the same questions against each option: what permission is required, what evidence supports it, what physical alterations are needed and what compromise is involved? For a commercial building, retaining employment space with homes above may have a different planning and practical risk profile from converting the whole building. For a house, fewer well-designed flats may be more credible than a higher count with poor circulation.
Record the reasons for rejecting an option. This prevents the team revisiting an attractive but unworkable layout when costs rise later. Separate a potentially manageable objection, such as relocating bins, from a fundamental limitation that cannot be solved by another planning statement.
Turn the findings into the next instruction
The report should end with a recommended approval route, drawing brief, survey schedule and unresolved questions. Use Leeds pre-application advice where a focused policy or design question would benefit from an officer response. If the question is whether a proposal is lawful without planning permission, consider the appropriate lawful-development route instead.
For an initial Plandome enquiry, provide the address, property particulars and the decision you need to make. If a purchase or finance deadline exists, identify it at the outset. A sensible scope can then prioritise information that affects that commitment rather than promise certainty before the underlying evidence exists.
Your questions, answered
Does feasibility guarantee planning permission?
No. It identifies a reasoned route and the remaining uncertainties. Consultation, additional technical evidence and the formal decision can still change the outcome. Treat the report as an informed basis for investment and design decisions.
Can the study establish an exact number of homes?
It can test a capacity range against measured information. An exact count should follow a workable layout and the relevant standards, rather than a floor-area division alone.
Sources & further reading
Primary guidance and evidence checked 21 October 2026. Recheck live sources before acting.
Make this specific to your property. General guidance cannot establish a site’s lawful use, boundaries or the outcome of an application. Bring your address, plans and any council correspondence to the next conversation.
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